Tiny Titans, Volume 8: Aw Yeah Titans! (A Review and a Look at the Current State of Kid Friendly Comics)

 

Sadly, we say good bye to the Tiny Titans in this volume as it collects the final issues of the award winning series. Some important questions are finally answered, such as will Bumblebee win her babysitting badge, will Beast Boy win the love of Terra finally, and what do the heroes look like without their masks? Also, Superman’s face is finally revealed for the first time in the final issue. (Most adults are show from the neck down- there are some exceptions, such as Alfred, Trigon, and Lobo.)

 

I liked this series. I hate to see it go. I hate it particularly when a quality comic for kids comes around and it lasts about as long as this sentence. Tiny Titans lasted for 50 issues, about 4 years. However, that’s a testament to how lousy DC and Marvel are at marketing their comic books to kids. Sure, they give out the occasional all-ages book during Free Comic Book day. But, the majority of books offered the first Saturday in May are not kid friendly and most comic book stores don’t take the time to tell parents what is and isn’t appropriate for a 10 year old to read. I once saw a parent grab a copy of Eastman and Laird’s TMNT and give it to a kid who could not have been older than 7. That’s an R-rated book- not the kid friendly stuff you see on TV.


Parents just don’t know what’s out there for their kids to read and what’s available only for moms and dads. There are books for toddlers, elementary age, high school, and adults. Sadly, other than a very tiny rating over the bar code, most adults don’t have a clue what book is for what age group. And don’t think that the covers will help in that decision. Recently, Marvel had variant covers of some of their biggest stars as babies- yet all of those books were geared for at minimum, the middle to high school crowd.

 Plus, have you ever seen Marvel do a commercial for their comics? No- but I bet you can describe the trailer to their latest film or cartoon! Yet, based on these films, parents don’t realize that most of those films are rated PG-13 and the cartoons are often Y-10 (for ages 10 and up.) Do you know about Super Hero Squad or Go Teen Titans- two excellent all ages cartoons that have comics to boot? Probably not. Sadly, thanks to Marvel and DC’s focus on the now, the next generation is being overlooked and parents are being misinformed about the all-ages arena.

What’s needed in comic books in order for the next generation to latch on to them and for parents to be open to their kids reading comics is for people in the know help educate parents so they know what is and isn’t kid friendly. Here’s a hint: Watchmen is not kid friendly! One character walks around with his doodle out the whole book while in another section of the comic; a couple graphically does the nasty in a flying car. That’s one reason I do this blog. Tiny Titans may be gone, but that doesn’t mean parents can’t find this amazing series at their local library or for pennies on the dollar online or in a dollar box at a local comics shop.

 

If you are an avid comic reader like me, I encourage you if you see a parent at a store stressing over what to buy their little tyke to read- please take the copy of Vampirella out of their hand and show them the all-ages section. The future of the comic’s industry is in your hands and that parent will thank you!

 

Worth Consuming!

 

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.